Title: Datacenter workflow automation scenarios using virtual databases.Abstract: Information from multiple databases is retrieved and stored on a database storage system. Multiple point-in-time copies are obtained for each database. A point-in-time copy retrieves data changed in the database since the retrieval of a previous point-in-time copy. A virtual database (VDB) is created by creating a set of files in the data storage system. Each file in the set of files created for a VDB is linked to the database blocks on the database storage system associated with a point-in-time copy of the source database. The set of files associated with the VDB are mounted on a database server allowing the database server to read from and write to the set of files. Workflows based on VDBs allow various usage scenarios based on databases to be implemented efficiently, for example, testing and development, backup and recovery, and data warehouse building. ...

BACKGROUND

This invention relates generally to databases, and in particular to storage efficient systems for managing databases and lifecycle workflows based on databases.

Databases store the data that is critical to an organization and thus form an important part of an organization's information technology infrastructure. As the information available in an organization grows, so does the complexity of the infrastructure required to manage the databases that store the information. The increased complexity of the infrastructure increases the resources required to manage the databases and the applications that depend on the databases. These increased costs may include the costs associated with hardware for managing the databases as well as the costs associated with additional personnel needed to maintain the hardware. The increased complexity of the infrastructure also affects the maintenance operations associated with the databases, for example, causing backup and recovery operations to take significantly longer.

In a typical organization's infrastructure environment, production database servers run applications that manage the day-to-day transactions of the organization. Changes to production databases or to applications that depend on the production databases are tested on copies of the databases to protect the production environment. Copies of the production databases may be required for several stages in the lifecycles of workflows associated with the production database and applications that depend on the production databases. For example, the stages in the lifecycle of a change incorporated in a production database may include a development stage, a tuning stage, a testing stage, a quality assurance stage, a certification stage, a training stage, and a staging stage. Making copies of the production databases for each stage requires redundant and expensive hardware infrastructure as well as the time overhead required to copy the data, which may take days or weeks. Additional hardware also requires additional costs associated with physically storing the hardware, such as floor space requirements and costs related to power and cooling. Furthermore, redundant hardware typically causes inefficient use of available resources.

Lifecycle workflows can be complex and often involve coordination across multiple teams. Hence, making a database available for a specific purpose, such as for supporting a particular stage in the lifecycle, may require further processing associated with the databases. For example, databases often contain critical confidential information, causing security and integrity to be important considerations in an environment managing databases. As a result, access permissions required for different teams working on different stages are often different. For example, data that can be accessed by personnel managing the production database server is often different from data that can be accessed by a person working in the testing stage of the lifecycle. This causes further complications related to administration of permissions across various stages of the lifecycle of any workflow related to the databases.

SUMMARY

Virtual databases (VDBs) combined with operations on virtual databases enable efficient execution of workflow scenarios that are typically executed using conventional database systems. An embodiment allows test and development of databases and database applications using a virtual database system. A source database is linked to a database storage system by receiving information identifying the source database. Multiple point-in-time copies of the source database are loaded by receiving database blocks for the point-in-time copies of the source database and storing them on the database storage system. A test virtual database (VDB) is provisioned to a test system and a development virtual database is provisioned to a development system. In an embodiment, the test VDB is created from a point-in-time copy of a development VDB. The provisioning of the virtual databases is performed by creating a set of files linked to the stored database blocks on the storage system, and mounting the set of files to the target system. A database server running on the target system is allowed to access the set of files. In an embodiment, backup of the stored database blocks on the storage system may be performed by copying the database blocks to another storage system.

In some embodiments, pre-script and post-script operations are performed before and after specific operations including linking, loading, and provisioning. The pre-script and post-script operations allow special purpose logic to be executed before or after a VDB operation, for example, copying of application specific data, filtering of information by excluding selective information, masking data, and the like. In some embodiments, pre-script and post-script operations associated with a provisioning operation allow setting of system environment associated with the VDB and applications running using the VDB. In some embodiments the test and development VDBs are refreshed by periodically obtaining point-in-time copies of the source database and automatically provisioning the VDBs based on the latest point-in-time copy obtained. In an embodiment, a quality assurance (QA) VDB is provisioned based on a point-in-time copy of the development VDB. Users of the test VDB and QA VDB may be granted appropriate permissions allowing them access to the data in the QA VDB.

Another embodiment allows remote test and development of databases and database applications using a virtual database system. A source database is linked to a database storage system by receiving information identifying the source database. Multiple point-in-time copies of the source database are loaded by receiving database blocks for the point-in-time copies of the source database and storing them on the database storage system. The stored database blocks are transmitted from the first storage system to a second storage system. A test virtual database is provisioned to a test system and a development virtual database is provisioned to a development system based on the database blocks stored in the second storage system. In an embodiment, the test VDB is created from a point-in-time copy of a development VDB. The provisioning of the virtual databases is performed by creating a set of files linked to the stored database blocks on the second storage system, and mounting the set of files to the target system. A database server running on the target system is allowed to access the set of files. In some embodiments, pre-script and post-script operations are performed before and after the VDB operations including linking, loading, and provisioning. For example, pre-script and post-script operations associated with transmission of database blocks allow masking, purging, compression, and encryption of data being transmitted.

Another embodiment, allows replication of databases using a virtual database system. A source database to be replicated is linked to a storage system by receiving information identifying the source database. Multiple point-in-time copies of the source database are loaded by receiving database blocks for the point-in-time copies of the source database and storing them on the storage system. The database blocks stored in the storage system are replicated to a second storage system by transmitting database blocks from the first storage system to the second storage system. The transmitted database blocks represent database blocks in the first storage system that changed since a given point-in-time. Virtual databases are provisioned from the second storage system to a system running a database server. The provisioning of virtual database includes creation of a set of files linked to the stored database blocks on the second storage system and mounting of the set of files to the system running the database server. The database server running on the system is provided access to the set of files associated with the virtual database.

Another embodiment, allows creation of data warehouse and data marts from a database. A source database containing data to be used for a data warehouse is linked to a storage system by receiving information identifying the source database. Multiple point-in-time copies of the source database are loaded by receiving database blocks for the point-in-time copies of the source database and storing them on the storage system. A virtual database (VDB) is provisioned to an operational data store (ODS) system by creating a set of files linked to the stored database blocks on the storage system, and mounting the set of files to the operational data store system. Extract, transform, and load (ETL) operations are performed on the data in the virtual database and the output of the ETL operations is stored in a database in a data warehouse system. Database blocks for different point-in-time copies of the database in the data warehouse are received and stored in the storage system. A VDB is created and provisioned to a data mart system, by creating a set of files linked to the stored database blocks associated with the database on the data warehouse system and mounting the set of files to the data mart system. In some embodiments, data mart VDBs may be created and provisioned to a data mart system based on subsets of data in the data warehouse database.

In some embodiments the ODS VDB is refreshed by periodically obtaining point-in-time copies of the source database and automatically provisioning the VDBs based on the latest point-in-time copy obtained. Refreshing the ODS VDB allows refresh of the reports in the data warehouse database, and the data marts automatically. In some embodiments, backup of the storage system may be performed allowing backup of the entire data associated with the source database and the virtual databases created based on the source database.

An embodiment allows backups of source database using a database storage system for storing virtual databases. One or more source databases are linked to the database storage system. Multiple point-in-time copies of the source databases are loaded into the database storage system. Virtual databases are provisioned using the point-in-time copies of the source databases stored in the database storage system. Backup of database blocks stored in the database storage system is performed by transmitting database blocks associated with the source databases from the database storage system to a backup storage system. The database blocks are stored in the backup system for use, for example, in case of system crashes associated with the source databases. In an embodiment, the backup storage system is a tape backup system.

The features and advantages described in this summary and the following detailed description are not all-inclusive. Many additional features and advantages will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the drawings, specification, and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is diagram illustrating how information is copied from a production database to a database storage system and provisioned as virtual databases using a file sharing system, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2a is a diagram showing how a virtual database system may run a different version of the database server compared to the version of the database server on the production database system that is the source of the database being virtualized, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2b is a diagram showing how a virtual database system may run using a database server executing on an operating system that is different compared to the operating system executing the database server of the production database system that is the source of the database being virtualized, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a system that makes storage efficient copies of information from a production database and provisions virtual databases, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates the interaction between components of a database storage system and the components of a production database system for making a storage efficient copy of the production database on the database storage system, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a process for processing a stream of data received by the database storage system from a production database system to save the data in a storage efficient way, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a process for copying the transaction log files from a production database system to the database storage system to enable provisioning of virtual databases at a given point in time, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram of the files used for storing the transaction logs in the database storage system compared with the production database system, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating how data for a database is maintained at different points in time in the database storage system, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a process for creating a virtual database at a given point in time, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 illustrates the creation of a read-write copy of a database at a given point in time to provision a virtual database, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 illustrates the creation of a read-write copy of a database at a different point in time compared to FIG. 10 to provision a virtual database, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates how database blocks stored on the storage system data store may be shared by file structures created for different VDBs, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates the creation of a read-write copy of a database for provisioning a virtual database based on transaction logs copied from the production database system, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 14 illustrates the life cycles of a database in a workflow for making changes to the database or to applications that depend on the database, in one example environment.

FIG. 15 illustrates a system environment for implementing a workflow for testing and development of program code related to databases and database applications using conventional methods.

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20120405|20120084252|datacenter workflow automation scenarios using virtual databases|Information from multiple databases is retrieved and stored on a database storage system. Multiple point-in-time copies are obtained for each database. A point-in-time copy retrieves data changed in the database since the retrieval of a previous point-in-time copy. A virtual database (VDB) is created by creating a set of files |Delphix-Corp